Hi everybody. In this Let's Play Music installment I'll go over an easy technique to add texture to your sound using an external sound source. By external, I'm referring to any sound not generated by your primary audio source, i.e. your synth, guitar, vocal, what-have-you. In this case I'm using an engine that generates various vinyl artifacts (hiss, crackle, buzz, etc.) to add a "retro" vibe to an electric piano. Have a look!

As you can see in the video, the technique is rather simple. I'll briefly mention the steps below for quick reference:

Create your instrument track (in this case an VST of an electric piano).

Create an Send/FX track adding your texture sound (in this case it's the Cubase-included plugin Grungelizer). Keep in mind this can also be done using a simple audio track. The sound source can also be another instrument, or a looped audio recording. Be creative!

Add a Gate to your texture channel. Make sure it's a gate that has side-chain capability and that it is placed AFTER your texture generator in your plugin chain. (If you're not 100% sure how a gate operates, google is your friend).

Send your primary source to the gate. This might be different depending on your DAW but it's usually simple to do. Please RTFM if you're not sure how to do this!

Tweak your gate's setting to your liking. Make sure it opens on every incoming note from the primary source and that is closes naturally when the sound decays. Obviously the exact setting are for you to decide and depend on what you want to do. Feel obliged to experiment!

That's it. Enjoy ;)

Keep in mind that art is not about gimmicks. Make sure you write good music before spending time polishing it. Don't be formulaic! Have fun and create meaningful art!